02/18/11 Free Spaying/Neutering Program for Stray Animals

Animal Friends, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shelter for abandoned animals of the City of Zagreb, and the City Office for Agriculture and Forestry Zagreb announce the following program

- Spaying/neutering dogs and cats with the aim of decreasing the number of stray animals

Stray dogs and cats are often targets of abuse, poisoning, and killing; they perish of hunger and thirst, unfavorable weather conditions and uncured illness, or get hit by cars. Killing stray animals is a completely inadequate and unethical way of solving the problem of unwanted animals. Spaying/neutering programs for stray dogs and cats are necessary and legally determined in order to prevent the suffering of animals as a result of human irresponsibility and to solve the problem of abandoned companion animals.

Therefore, Animal Friends, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Zagreb, Zoo –Shelter for abandoned animals of the City of Zagreb, and the City Office for Agriculture and Forestry Zagreb have agreed on cooperation in the form of launching a free spaying/neutering program for abandoned dogs and stray cats.

Applications will be possible through the web site www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr and Animal Friends will issue cards with which it will be possible to make a spaying/neutering appointment. Spaying/neutering of male and female dogs will be performed at the Maternity and Reproduction Clinic and the Surgery, Orthopaedics, and Ophthalmology Clinic at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Zagreb, whereas spaying/neutering of male and female stray cats will be performed at the Shelter for abandoned animals of the City of Zagreb in Dumovec.

This unique project, first of the sort in Croatia, will be presented at the press conference on Friday, February 18, 2011 at 10:00 A.M., in the Main Auditorium of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Zagreb, Heinzelova 55.

Program implementation will be explained in detail by Tomislav Dobranic, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Davorka Maljkovic, Head of the Zagreb Zoo – Shelter for abandoned animals of the City of Zagreb, Emil Tuk, D.V.M., Vice-Head of the City Office forAgriculture and Forestry Zagreb, and Luka Oman, President of Animal Friends.

The conference will be followed by an organized tour around the facilities of the Maternity and Reproduction Clinic and the Surgery, Orthopaedics, and Ophthalmology Clinic. These facilities have been renovated and modernized as part of the "Veterinary Surgery Centre of Excellence" program, and that is where the spaying/neutering program will take place.

The City of Zagreb has made it possible to implement the "Veterinary Surgery Centre of Excellence" program, with the aim of introducing and applying modern diagnostic, operative, and therapeutic methods in curing animals, as well as educate and specialize doctors of veterinary medicine. Shelter for abandoned an imals can serve as an example to other Croatian cities in organizing a highly efficient animal shelter. Moreover, the City of Zagreb has given its support to the Network Against Animal Abandoning and will continue its work on finding an adequate solution for the problem of abandoned animals through this project.

Dogs and cats do not live in wilderness. Their place is among humans, which is why their overpopulation and uncontrolled proliferation result in great suffering for unwanted and abandoned animals. Spaying/neutering prevents this uncontrolled increase of the population of companion animals, i.e. the unnecessary killing and birth of numerous unwanted kittens and puppies, for whom it is difficult to find appropriate homes.

Spaying/neutering also prevents the mental suffering of animals as a result of the impossibility of satisfying their natural drives, as well as the development of various illnesses such as breast or uterus cancer, pyometris, sepsis, or prostate and testicular cancer. The operation is simple and performed routinely, so that the animal completely recovers only hours after the procedure.This project is extremely important for Zagreb and Croatia, especially for the animals themselves.

Apart from the direct help that it will provide to stray animals, its implementation will draw attention to the urgent need of further spaying/neutering programs in other parts of Croatia, stricter implementation of the Animal Protection Act, and the necessity of educating people about the responsible care for animals.

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Animal Friends is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, founded in 2001 with the aim to promote animal protection and animal rights as well as veganism, as ethical, ecological and healthy lifestyle.
Animal Friends Croatia is a member organization of EVU,
Eurogroup for Animals, ECEAE, FFA, IAFC and OIPA.